'Heather Mills is a bitch who tricked me into spreading lies about Paul McCartney,' claims her ex-Hollywood PR

Heather Mills's former publicist has accused her of conducting a campaign of dirty tricks against Sir Paul McCartney during their bitter divorce.

Hollywood PR Michele Elyzabeth has launched a scathing attack on Miss Mills, saying the former model duped her into lying for her in their public battle and leaked false stories to blacken Sir Paul's name.

During her explosive rant she refers to Miss Mills as a pathological liar, a witch, a bitch and a gold-digger who married the former Beatle for his money.

She claimed the self-styled charity campaigner had bugged Sir Paul's private conversations in an attempt to rake up any dirt on the 66-year-old performer.

According to the publicist, Miss Mills instead captured Sir Paul and Stella making fun of her in the secret recording.

Miss Elyzabeth also suggested the animal rights activist had misled the world into thinking she was penniless, when Sir Paul was still giving her money.

The LA-based executive claims Miss Mills had banked £3million from Sir Paul, while avoiding paying bills and getting freebies. There were also claims that Miss Mills, who secured a £ 24.3million divorce from Sir Paul, had exaggerated how much she gave to charity.

Best friends: Michele Elyzabeth and Heather Mills were once close

She described Miss Mills as 'a calculating, pathological liar and the biggest bitch on the planet', adding: 'She not only misled me, she misled the entire world.'

Miss Elyzabeth, who represented Miss Mills for four years, said she had told lies for her after wrongly believing she was being told the truth.

'At one stage we were so close I viewed her as the daughter I never had. Today I think of her as the witch I wish I never met.

'I was foolish and saw her simply as the devoted humanitarian, charity campaigner and protective mother she wanted the world to see. Now I want the public to know who the real Heather Mills is.'

Miss Mills, 40, who lost her leg after a road accident in 1993, was accused of secretly taping a conversation between Sir Paul and his daughter Stella about the break-up.

Miss Elyzabeth said she had pulled out a cassette recorder and played it to her.

The PR woman, who has been representing celebrities in Hollywood for 35 years, claims Miss Mills was wearing latex gloves to avoid fingerprints while handling the tape and screamed: 'I will destroy him.'

The publicist said 'Mucca' would also ridicule Sir Paul's performance sexual prowess, going into graphic details with people she 'barely knew'.

She also said 'Mucca' had also claimed she had a video of Sir Paul being abusive to her and tried to sell it to US TV for a million dollars.

But according to the publicist all she had was home movie footage, which showed nothing more than normal family life.

It was also claimed Mills leaked stories about Sir Paul's health to the press about a secret coronary angioplasty operation he had last September.

Miss Elyzabeth, who is involved in a legal dispute with Miss Mills herself over a £168,000 bill, told the News of the World: 'I have asked myself many times what was Heather's motivation, but it all points to one thing - money.

'She is a gold-digger. I'm certain her marriage to Paul was all about the money. I've spent hours with Heather. I've seen how tight she is with her cash, how she lied to me about Paul giving her money and experienced how she dodges bills - including my own fees.'

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills pictured before the marriage broke up acrimoniously

She said Miss Mills was piling the emotional pressure on Sir Paul during their divorce battle to get more money from the settlement.

She said that despite her telling the world that Sir Paul had given Heather nothing, court papers showed she had got £3million.

Miss Elyzabeth said: 'I stood up for her, insisting Paul wasn't paying her. But it was a pack of lies.'

Mr Justice Bennett in his divorce judgment had said: 'In the light of the husband's generosity towards her I find the wife's behaviour distinctly distasteful. In any event it damages her overall credibility.'

Miss Elyzabeth, a colourful, French-born character who calls herself 'Comtesse', was once described as one of Miss Mills's closest friends.

She quit in July after a massive row down the phone, branding Mills 'an impossible person'.

Prior to this her British PR Phil Hall stepped down after it was claimed she ignored his advice.

She also fell out and split with Princess Diana's divorce lawyers Mishcon de Reya.